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Andrew Hull Foote
|death_date= |birth_place=New Haven, Connecticut |death_place=New York, New York |placeofburial=Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven |placeofburial_label=Place of burial |image=Andrew H. Foote.jpg |caption=''Admiral Foote'' |allegiance= |branch= United States Navy |serviceyears= 1822–1863 |rank= Rear Admiral |commands=USS Perry, USS Portsmouth, Western Gunboat Flotilla |unit= |battles= Suppression of the Slave Trade Second Opium War *Battle of the Pearl River Forts American Civil War *Battle of Fort Henry *Battle of Fort Donelson *Battle of Island No. 10 |awards=Thanks of Congress }} Andrew Hull Foote (September 12, 1806 – June 26, 1863) was an American naval officer who was noted for his service in the American Civil War and also for his contributions to several naval reforms in the years prior to the war. When the war came, he was appointed to command of the Western Gunboat Flotilla, predecessor of the Mississippi River Squadron. In that position, he led the gunboats in the Battle of Fort Henry. For his services with the Western Gunboat Flotilla, Foote was among the first naval officers to be promoted to the then-new rank of rear admiral.Three others were nominated at the same time as Foote but stood higher on the list submitted to Congress: David G. Farragut, Samuel Francis Du Pont, and Louis M. Goldsborough. Early life Foote was born at New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Senator Samuel A. Foot (or Foote) and Eudocia Hull.Hoppin's pg. 15 As a child Foote was not known as a good student, but showed a keen interest in one day going to sea. His father compromised and had him entered at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.Hoppin's pp. 24-25 Six months later in 1822, he left West Point and accepted an appointment as a midshipman in the United States Navy. Antebellum naval service Between 1822 and 1843, Foote saw service in the Caribbean, Pacific, and Mediterranean, African Coast and at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. He first began as a midshipman on the [[USS Grampus (1821)|USS Grampus]]. In 1830, he was commissioned a lieutenant, and was stationed in the Mediterranean. In 1837, Foote circumnavigated the globe in the [[USS John Adams (1799)|USS John Adams]]. After serving on sea, Foote was put in charge of the Philadelphia Naval Asylum. After serving on land he went back to sea, and organized a Temperance Society aboard the [[USS Cumberland (1842)|USS Cumberland]]. This group developed into a movement that resulted in ending the policy of supplying grog to U.S. Naval personnel.Hoppin's pp. 58-59 From 1849 to 1851, Foote commanded the [[USS Perry|USS Perry]], cruising the waters off the African coast. He was active in suppressing the slave trade there.Davenport's/Scudder's pg. 86-88 This experience persuaded him to support the cause of Abolition, and in 1854, he published a 390 page book, Africa and the American Flag. In this book, Admiral Foote described the geography of the African continent, the customs of many of the African people, the establishment of American colonies in Africa, the slave-trade and its evils and the need to protect American citizens and commerce abroad. He also became a frequent speaker on the Abolitionist circuit. Foote was promoted to Commander in 1856, and took command of the [[USS Portsmouth (1843)|USS Portsmouth]] in the East India Squadron. With this command, Foote was assigned the mission of observing British operations against Canton, China, during the Second Opium War. This eventually resulted in his being attacked from Chinese shore batteries. Foote led a landing party that seized the barrier forts along the Pearl River in reprisal for the attack.Hoppin's pg. 122 This led to a short occupation by the U.S. Navy of Chinese territory. Foote returned to the Continental United States in 1858, and took command of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, in Brooklyn, New York, a post he held until the outbreak of the hostilities of the Civil War. Civil War and his death When the American Civil War began in 1861, Foote was in command of the New York Navy Yard. On June 29, 1861 Foote was promoted to Captain. From 1861 to 1862, Foote commanded the Mississippi River Squadron with distinction, organizing and leading the gunboat flotilla in many of the early battles of the Western Theater of the American Civil War. Even though Foote was an officer in the United State Navy, the Western Flotilla was under the jurisdiction of the Union Army. In early February 1862, now holding the rank of Flag Officer (equivalent to the modern Commodore), he cooperated with General Ulysses S. Grant against Fort Henry on the Tennessee River. Despite heavy damage to one of the gunboats, Foote was able to quickly subdue the fort. Several days later Grant and Foote moved against Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. Hoping for a repeat of the success at Fort Henry, General Grant urged Foote to attack the fort's river batteries. Fort Donelson's guns, however, were better placed than Fort Henry's were. Three of Foote's gunboats were damaged including the flagship, [[USS St. Louis|USS St. Louis]]. Foote himself received an ironic wound in his foot. For his service at Forts Henry and Donelson, Foote received the Thanks of Congress. After repairing his flotilla, Foote joined with General John Pope in a campaign against Island Number Ten on the Mississippi River. In July 1862 Foote received a second Thanks of Congress, this time for the battles of Fort Henry, Fort Donelson and Island Number Ten.Eicher p.238 Later in 1862, Foote was promoted to rear admiral. In 1863, on his way to take command of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, he suddenly died. His untimely death in New York shocked the nation.Hoppin's pg. 379 He was interred at Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven.Crofut's pg. 592 Namesakes Three ships were named [[USS Foote|USS Foote]] for him. Civil War Fort Foote on the Potomac,Hoppin's pg. 209 now a National Park, was also named for him. See also *African Squadron Notes *Hoppin, James Mason; "Life of Andrew Hull Foote: rear-admiral United States Navy", Harper & Brothers, (1874) *Davenport, Charles Benedict, Scudder, Mary Theresa; "Naval officers: their heredity and development", Carnegie Institution of Washington, (1919) *Crofut, Florence S. Marcy; "Guide to the history and the historic sites of Connecticut, Volume 2", Yale university press, (1937) Further reading * Fowler, William M., Under Two Flags: The American Navy in the Civil War, Norton and Company, 1990, ISBN 0-393-02859-3. * Gott, Kendall D., Where the South Lost the War: An Analysis of the Fort Henry-Fort Donelson Campaign, February 1862, Stackpole Books, 2003, ISBN 0-8117-0049-6. * Tucker, Spencer C., Andrew Foote: Civil War Admiral on Western Waters, Library of Naval Biography, Naval Institute Press, 2000, ISBN 1-55750-820-8. References : External links *history.navy.mil: DANFS biography of Andrew Foote Category:1806 births Category:1863 deaths Category:Union Navy admirals Category:United States Navy admirals Category:People of Connecticut in the American Civil War Category:Burials at Grove Street Cemetery Category:American naval historians Category:People from New Haven, Connecticut